The Emilie Adventures by Martha Wells: A Delight!

Ooh, she's back at it again, reading Martha Wells' reissues as ARCs. She's crazy!

Rating: 4/5 stars

Read: January 9th - January 13th

Because I'm Martha Wells #1 True Fan, I knew that she had written a YA duology, and I suspected even before it was announced that said YA duology would be republished as part of her six-book deal with Tor. But that being said, I do feel like the Emilie Adventures are bit obscure even to readers of Martha Wells' fantasy (which is obviously a bit obscure to people who have only read the Murderbot Diaries). But if you like Martha Wells' fantasy, I think you'll find a lot to like here. And actually, I also think these books will be really enjoyable for fans of T. Kingfisher, Frances Hardinge, Diana Wynne Jones, and Studio Ghibli (specifically, Castle in the Sky was the movie I thought about the most while reading. I think it was the airships).

So, what's the deal with Emilie and the Hollow World and the Sky World? Emilie is a teen runaway who doesn't have entirely enough money for a ferry ticket, so she's planning to stow away on a ship to get to her cousin Karthea and begin a new life for herself. Alas, she is caught and ends up having to change plans. Instead of stowing away on an ordinary ferry, she stows away on a ship that is magically outfitted to travel to the bottom of the ocean, where there is a strange portal to another world (kind of - it's actually aether currents, but you can read the book to get the real explanation). A lady academic named Miss Marlende and an otherworldly guy have enlisted the help of a lord to try and rescue Miss Marlende's father and his expedition from the fabled Hollow World

And then along comes Emilie

I liked Emilie as a protagonist. I've read other reviews of the earlier edition of the book that rightfully point out that she's a little bit of a passive observer for large parts of the beginning of this story, but I liked her even so. It was very funny to me when Kenar, the nonhuman from the Hollow World, was introduced, because he's very familiar to me as Martha Wells' usual archetype. Someone competent, nonhuman, and a bit exasperated by the incompetence/distrust/etc of those around him. (She needs ONE trademark Martha Wells Protagonist per book, even if he's not the true lead). Emilie is not really a Martha Wells Protagonist. She's a pragmatic and quick-thinking teenage girl who does her best, even when she's wildly out of her depth in a world with carnivorous plant people and other dangers. She's not as hyper competent in combat situations as Murderbot or Moon; she's not an academic or magical expert like Khat or Kai; but she is keeping a level head and doing her best. This, to me, made her enjoyable to read about.

I think people who have read Martha Wells' other fantasy will recognize certain trademarks, even outside of Kenar's familiar archetype (and in case it's not clear, I LOVE his archetype and I love that Martha Wells keeps writing it). Strange new worlds occupied by sometimes unknowable civilizations, lots of action and adventure, and, funnily enough, invisible/disembodied creatures exiled from their own world who are trying to steal from our world, whether that be resources or the entire world itself. I don't want to give spoilers for other Martha Wells books per se, but this is at least the third instance of it happening, and I find that so interesting.

If you want a fairly light, fast-paced steampunk fantasy adventure duology with the unique settings commonly found in Martha Wells' writing, definitely try this one! I think it's a little faster-paced than some of her other fantasy books, so it may provide a more fun/accessible starting point to those who have been wanting to try her fantasy, even if it's not 1:1 with her usual style

And as previously mentioned, the touch of whimsy and focus on practical characters doing their best to stay level-headed reminded me of T. Kingfisher (what I've read of her, which definitely isn't everything), so I think her fans should check this one out specifically. The unique worlds are what reminded me of Frances Hardinge (although the character work is a little different and I don't know if anyone can touch Frances Hardinge's gift for metaphor, as much as I'm a stan for Martha Wells).

Additionally, this book reads a little more like an upper middle grade book than what I would consider the current YA writing style, even though it was originally sold as YA. Based on Edelweiss, it seems like Tordotcom is basically just going to label it as general fantasy/sci fi, which I am admittedly a LITTLE apprehensive about. But I think this duology would have crossover appeal to both middle grade and adult readers. I just don't know if every YA reader would be totally satisfied, based on current YA genre expectations. I'm pretty sure I would have liked it as a teen, but I was also much more interested in middle grade as a teen than I was in the paranormal romances, Hunger Games knock offs, and love triangles that infested the YA scene when I was still a teenager. (These things have their place, of course, but 15-year-old me was not impressed)

All in all, I really liked this one. It was a very pleasant respite from a very long week. I wouldn't have minded reading a few more Emilie Adventures, if Martha Wells had chosen to write them.